As a therapist, I’m always happy to talk about mental health. However, I also know that many people don’t feel comfortable with opening up about their issues. Dr Michael Vivian So here are things you should know about mental health in general so that you can get more comfortable talking about it too!
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a mental health issue that affects how people think and feel about themselves and others. The main symptoms of borderline personality disorder include:
• Anxiety
• Intense emotions, such as anger or depression
• Impulsive behaviour, such as reckless spending or sexual promiscuity
The intense emotions can make it hard for you to control your reactions to things that happen in your life. You may find yourself swinging from one extreme emotion to another without warning or reason–for example, feeling happy one minute but then becoming sad the next minute without any obvious cause.
Depression
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings, and sense of well-being. It differs from normal sadness or grief in that it lasts for longer periods of time and interferes with your ability to function normally in daily life.
Depression isn’t the same as feeling blue or having low energy–it’s more like an ongoing state of fatigue with no end in sight. If you’re experiencing any symptoms of depression on a regular basis, then you should seek help from your doctor right away, says Dr Michael Vivian instead of ignoring them or trying to “snap out” of it yourself
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. It’s more than just feeling sad or down – people with bipolar disorder have mood swings that go from very low (depression) to very high (mania). This can happen within hours or days at a time and be quite severe, causing them to feel out of control over their own emotions.
The symptoms of bipolar disorder include:
• Mood changes – These may include feeling depressed or being irritable for no reason; having no interest in things you usually enjoy; sleeping too much or not enough.